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Informit focuses on EduTV enhancements at VALA 2018

26 February 2018

Informit's stand at VALA

VALA 2018 (Victorian Association for Library Automation), held in Melbourne in February, is the year’s must-attend event for those working and aspiring to work in the fast-changing information and technology environment of the GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums) sector in Australia.

In its 40th Anniversary year, VALA provided three days of professional enrichment for the libraries and information managers of the future.

Informit Senior Business Development Manager, John Nuutinen, said this event in particular provides library leaders with the opportunity to promote and exchange information in a fast-changing environment.

During the conference, Informit ran a trivia competition centred around Informit EduTV updates, with Sarah Meade from Frankston Library receiving the prize. New features include MARC (MAchine Readable Cataloguing) records to increase discoverability and the creation of closed captions on request.

Informit EduTV has over 42,000 programs with 100 programs added weekly, including documentaries, drama, series and more. Click here to find out more.

This was the first VALA event for Informit Business Development Executive, Brett Joseph, who found the conference a valuable tool for face-to-face discussions with industry experts.

“This year’s VALA was a great opportunity to sit down and have a casual chat with customers from interstate that we wouldn’t normally be able to reach out to,” Mr Joseph said.

“The early feedback has been positive and we’ve already secured follow-up meetings later in the year.”

Informit also held its biannual Data Provider meeting after VALA with a contingent of Melbourne-based data providers who contribute to Informit’s collections and databases.

Held in the new RMIT Swanston Library, the group gathered to hear about database improvements achieved since the last meeting in August 2017 in Canberra. Informit representatives provided a summary of a range of data quality improvements achieved over the last six months as well as an overview of Informit’s subscription base and how it is changing. A three-person panel then convened to represent different aspects of Informit’s customer base.

Within a rapidly changing information provision and publishing environment, communication and cooperation with data partners is a high priority for Informit as the industry faces new challenges and new opportunities.